Norway's Sources of CH4 Emissions
Key Insights
Methane’s Role And Trends
Methane contributes around 17% of Norway's overall warming impact. Historically, livestock has been the dominant source, supplying just over half of methane emissions. Since the mid‑20th century, the profile has shifted: waste rose rapidly through the post‑war era before turning down from the mid‑1980s, while fugitive emissions were very low until the late 1970s and then climbed strongly, becoming a major source in recent decades.
Livestock Stable Then Easing
Livestock emissions grew through the early and mid‑20th century, reaching roughly 4 megatonnes by the early 1960s. They then held broadly steady around a little over 3 megatonnes from the 1970s to the mid‑1990s, before a gradual decline set in. Since the late 1990s, they have edged down to under 3 megatonnes, remaining Norway's largest single source but on a gentle downward trajectory.
Waste Down, Fugitive Up
Waste emissions increased from negligible levels mid‑century to nearly 3 megatonnes in the 1980s, then fell steadily to well below 1 megatonne today. By contrast, fugitive emissions surged from the late 1970s, reaching around 4 megatonnes in recent years with peaks near 5 megatonnes, making them the second‑largest source. Smaller categories such as fuel combustion and other processes have stayed comparatively low and stable.
Actionable Outlook For Norway
Among the major sources, livestock is declining slowly, waste is falling more decisively, and fugitive emissions remain elevated after decades of growth. Sustained progress hinges on holding the waste decline, accelerating the gradual drop in livestock, and reversing the rise in fugitive emissions to put total methane firmly on a downward path.
Background
The chart shows a national breakdown by source of the yearly methane (CH4) emissions from human activities expressed as weight in megatonnes (Mt). In the scientific literature, these are referred to as anthropogenic emissions. Human-induced methane emissions increase atmospheric methane, which is warming the Earth. The sources of human methane emissions are
- Livestock
- Fugitive emissions from the fossil fuel industry
- Crop production
- Fossil fuel combustion
- Waste management
- Other processes
Methane's Global Warming Potential
Methane has a much higher Global Warming Potential (GWP) than CO2. However, the effect lasts only for a relatively brief period (9 years on average), compared to hundreds of years for CO2. A reduction in emissions can cause a rapid decline in its atmospheric levels and climate impact.
Livestock
Livestock emits methane that is produced in the animals' digestive system. Most methane is emitted from the mouth during rumination. A much smaller amount of methane is emitted from the manure. Depending on how the manure is managed, i.e., wet or dry, more methane is emitted. Wet management leads to higher methane emissions than dry management. However, dry management also emits nitrous oxide (N2O), which is another potent greenhouse gas.
Fugitive emissions from fossil fuel industry
Fugitive methane emissions are from the intentional and accidental release of methane, which happens during the extraction, storage, and transportation processes in the fossil fuel industry. Examples are methane leaks during oil and gas handling, storage, transport, incomplete combustion, and many more. Also, methane is deliberately ventilated from mines during the extraction of coal.
Methane is a primary part of “gas”, also called “natural gas” or “fossil gas”. Natural gas is used, for example, for heating and electricity generation, whereby it emits CO2 during the combustion process. However, when natural gas leaks (unburned) it contains a lot of fugitive methane emissions.
Waste
Waste from landfills and wastewater produces a lot of methane when biodegradable material breaks down without oxygen.
Crop production
Crop production emissions are largely from rice cultivation, which generates large amounts of methane during plant growth. These emissions are from flooded paddies, which create the swamp-like environment of rice fields. There are agricultural techniques to reduce emissions significantly, like periodic drainage and aeration. Rice is the main staple for about half the world's population, and its emissions are a significant part of total human methane emissions.
Fuel combustion
Fuel combustion emissions are mostly from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. As mentioned before, natural gas consists largely of methane, and when the combustion does not happen completely, methane enters the atmosphere.
Other
Other human-induced methane emissions include industrial processes and product uses.
Wikipedia: Anthropogenic Sources of Atmospheric MethaneIPCC: AR6, 5.2.2.2 Anthropogenic CH4 emissions
Units and Measures
CH4 emissions are expressed in the total weight in megatonnes per year. 1 Megatonne is equal to 1 million tonnes.
Wikipedia: MegatonneWikipedia: Global warming potential
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About the Data
The last available year in all the emission datasets is 2023. Methane emissions come from the PRIMAP-Hist dataset. It is a rich dataset that combines several published sources to create a historical emissions time series for various greenhouse gases.
The Key Insights paragraph was created using a large language model (LLM) in combination with our data, historic events, and a structured approach for best accuracy by separating the context generation from the interpretation and narrative.
Data Sources
PRIMAP-hist The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series (1750-2023)
Update cycle: Every few monthsDelay: Less than 1 yearCredits: Gütschow, Johannes; Busch, Daniel; Pflüger, Mika (2024): The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series (1750-2023) v2.6. Zenodo.